Ask HN: CTO quit a week after I joined and I don't like working there anymore | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: CTO quit a week after I joined and I don't like working there anymore

18 pointsstartupnewbie29 comments

Sorry if this is not allowed here.

Long story short, I joined a startup as an SWE 3 months ago and the CTO who I was supposed to work under quit the week after I joined. I primarily work closely with another guy (small startup) now and although he's really good he has a tendency to hide things he's working on from me and kinda micromanage me even though he's not my boss. I don't enjoy working with him and I'm considering quitting in a month. Does it look bad if you quit after 3 months? This is my second job after grad school. I was at my previous role for 6 years.

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> the CTO who I was supposed to work under quit the week after I joined.

THIS happens ALL the time.

The entire Reporting Relationship/Team Dynamic changed.

That's a valid reason to move on.

Incidentally, might be worth connecting with the former CTO via Linkedin.

While he may be contractually prohibited from employing you in his new role. He could serve as professional reference.

Yeah, that's a good idea. I added him on LinkedIn.

While he may be contractually prohibited from employing you in his new role.

Typically nonsolicit agreements only prevent the CTO from reaching out and trying to hire you away. If you, the disgruntled engineer, reach out to your former CTO and ask them if there's a job at their new company, the CTO will typically not be prevented from employing you.

> the CTO will typically not be prevented from employing you.

It could happen.

And yet, relationships with Ex-C Level Execs can be oddly toxic. Even up to spiteful litigious situations.

The Ex-CTO may be receptive your call.

But likely he'll wait out a cooling-off period to avoid the 'appearance' of solicitation.

I'd look for a new job and quit. But it's my own opinion, you know your life better.

As you worked before 6 years on your job and tech is a good market, I'd just mention that when I do an interview:

- I've worked 6 years on that company... I wanted to try something new, but shortly after I've joined, the CTO who hired me quit and I no longe see a great future for X company. This is why I'm applying to your company, which I believe has a good product because of X Y Z etc.

I believe if you explain it well, it could be even positive to you in a new interview for a new job, because you show them that you are quitting for your own good, with positive intentions, because also what you wrote here tells me what you are doing it for a good reason. I'd hire you if I could :-)

A couple questions to ask yourself before your leave:

1. Why did you join this company? Was it a personal connection or admiration for the CTO? Or do you actually like the company/product/service you're working on?

2. Are you mostly unhappy with the working relationship with this one person, or with the full company? If it's with this one person, that's fixable with some effort and conversations with other leaders to restructure the operation.

3. What have you learned from this to take forward? If you decide to leave, what learnings are you taking from this experience to better qualify and understand the future roles and organizations?

No it doesn’t look bad. It’s a startup, so people understand that things can go sour quickly. Especially since you’ve been at the work before for 6 years

> I was at my previous role for 6 years.

You're fine. Recruiters and hiring managers are scared of people who chronically leave after 6 months, not once a decade.

This is the key. If you did this every 3-6 months where you bounced than it could be a problem, but overall doing it once in awhile is not a big deal. And you can easily address it in a cover letter if you felt necessary, or even in the position description. I'd leave it alone unless/until asked personally.

You can also leave it off it you really felt it was a problem, or do some A/B testing with it and different employers. I personally think people get way too worked up over their resume usually, the exception being when you only have a couple of positions to list then anything "different" can stand out so then it is totally worth giving it a little more thought.

Yes, that's a good point. I actually interviewed recently for a startup with this experience on my resume and they seem to want me on board. If everything goes well and the fit is good, I might take take up that offer.

If you do find a better job, you can just simply leave this one off your resume.

If you don't, then be happy you can collect the paychecks from this one :)

yeah that's the plan :)

I'd recommend not leaving jobs off your resume.

First, gaps stick out like a sore thumb.

Second, with just a little bit of diligence they will easily see you worked there, but didn't list it on your resume. They then have the question of 'Why not list it?' in their mind. Their mind will build a narrative you do not control or influence, and it's not a positive one.

Better to be 100% open and transparent. List it on your resume, and talk to it during the interview 'Due to our CTO leaving I was no longer a fit with their changed culture or mission, so left to seek other opportunities. I did stay in contact with the CTO however, and he can provide a reference if you'd like.'

Yeah I don’t plan to leave it out of my resume. I did learn a lot in the role and it’s quite different from my previous experiences. I’ve spoken to a couple of companies and I did explain my rationale for looking now.

> If you do find a better job, you can just simply leave this one off your resume.

Won't future employers ask about the random, three-month hole?

I would either extend the dates a bit, or simply say that you relocated during your job switch.

At one point I had an extremely patchy employment history over 2 years where I was job hopping every few months. I now just wrap it all up into one experience under one employer. Nobody has ever cared to question it, and if they did, I would explain that I relocated twice and that what's more important is the current skill set I bring to the table.

After reading that, I looked up someone on LinkedIn who we (my employer) fired who I worked closely with.

Yup, he did that.

In such a situation I'd just omit some of the short stints from my resume, and then when questioned, I'd be honest. Say something like, "I had a rough period where I really hopped around. In my opinion, listing every short stint on my resume would make it too hard to read."

If you just use years on your resume, a three month gap doesn’t even show up. Worst-case, you have “2013-2019” and, next, “2020”. Why would you be more specific?

Is a replacement coming? Do you like the company otherwise?

If your only issue is the other guy then in theory this could workout better for you as when the CTO's replacement comes in you all have nearly equal footing.

Who is your boss post his departure the CEO? If so be proactive and set time up with them to ask questions and voice concerns. You could possibly carve yourself a comfort zone.

The replacement isn’t coming soon, maybe in 6-8 months. We’re in a vital stage in the next couple of months where we will be delivering to a client soon. I currently report to another cofounder. I like the other people I work with and the company is definitely on the right track but I don’t see myself learning a lot here though.

This is a totally normal and valid reason for leaving a job. Be honest about why you're leaving and start looking for a new job. If someone refuses to interview you because of this, you're probably better not working for them anyway.

A developer we recently hired explained during the interview why he got fired from his previous job. He's been with us for several months now and has been a great asset. As long as you interview well and explain yourself you should be fine in whichever direction you wish to go.

I wouldn't stress it too much. It used to be that a lots of places on your work history was frowned upon, but in my experience as a hirer, it's not such a big deal these days. It shouldn't affect your hireability in the future in any measurable way.

what about for a junior dev? i've been at my first real development job for five months (before this job, i was doing web design with html and css but not actual development). i'm not happy with the mentorship i'm receiving. i want to find another job so i don't miss out on crucial mentoring at this early stage in my career. would it look bad to a recruiter if i've only been here for 5 months? in my time here, i've been productive and contributed (far past their expectations), so it's not like i'm wasting my current company's time. i just want to learn the craft of good software development and not learn bad habits, and don't think that will happen here.

I’m in your exact position, it’s okay to leave. Life is too short to work for shitty people / orgs.

Best of luck!

thanks! ditto

This wouldn't be a red flag in my mind. You are clearly capable of sticking with a job, but this one just didn't work out. It happens. Move on, and in a few years, this job will barely be a blip in your memory.

Plain and simple, leave now. Things aren’t going to get better, you owe your employee nothing. Just don’t put it on your resume.

Totally valid reason.

In other news, I work at a place with a great culture. Drop me your resume and I'll get you in the pipeline ;- ) hn-expedited@envoy.com

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